Steepster Select December Giveaway

A wooden tea caddy with six kinds of Pickwick teabags in it which was a birthday or christmas present from my aunt. It sparked a TRYALLTHEFLAVOURS!!! obsession for me, which in turn led me to start wondering a little more about what this tea stuff actually was, so I looked up some literature at the library. That informed me that what I was drinking wasn’t actually a very good quality and inspired me to seek out something better. It wasn’t until some years later though that I had a chance to do so. No debit card, see. No internet shopping. Took revenge for that later though. :)

I have no idea what type of tea it was, but my husband made it for me. It was made properly, so it had no bitterness, no funky aftertaste. I loved it. Loved. I woke up the next day craving another well made cup of tea, and I’ve been wanting (and having) one everyday since.

Easy. Liverpool, England. 1979. I was 13-years-old. My father wouldn’t let me drink tea until I had “lead in my pencil.” He took me into the service kitchen (I was never allowed in there before this day) and taught me how to make a proper cup of English tea using Tetley black. Plenty of milk and two sugars. To this day, it’s the best cup I’ve ever had.

My father passed in 2006 and one of his last requests was a sip of proper English tea, Tetley of course. I made it for him in the nurses’ nook. I like to think that for one brief moment as he had the cup to his lips, he was already in Heaven. He smiled.

I have away drank tea from when I was a little girl. Probably any tea from celestial seasonings for starters. But the tea houses that made me get serious and explore tea was Teavana and Samovar tea. That is when I started to venture from the herbal and black teas and start to get into oolong.

I have always drank tea it was a staple in my mom’s house. Can’t ever remember not hearing the whistle of the kettle. Irish to the core. Had her Aunt send her authentic Irish Breakfast from Ireland. When that wasn’t in the house Tetley or Lipton would have to due. She didn’t like being a bag lady though she was a loose leaf kind of woman. And had to be in a ceramic pot otherwise it just didn’t taste right. Milk had to be poured into the cup first then add your tea and sugar. She bypassed the sugar. Always quoted Eleanor Roosevelt with a woman is like a teabag the longer she steeps the stronger she gets. Not sure if that is exactly the quote but that is how it was said at my mom’s kitchen table. Well her girls sure came out strong in spirit!

I grew up in Russia. Have been drinking tea since before I remember myself! Tea is a Russian staple like bread, more than vodka or kvas.

I moved in the US 19 years ago and since then have been steadily working on improving the quality of the tea I drink. Also quantity — used to start the day with two cups, end with two or three cups, and have a cup an hour in between. Now it’s down to a cup in the morning, a couple of cups in the evening, and several cups during the day, but all of these are loose leaves (and sometime cakes), not bags. I do drink bagged tea when backpacking or camping, it’s an integral part of the experience.